No Place For Heroes
by Oswald Bastable
Summary: What would the Pokémon world be without heroes? In this darker version of the Kanto and Johto storylines, Red and Ethan's Pokémon journeys never happen. And the only "heroes" around are Silver and Blue, who are just as nasty as ever; perhaps even more so from being unopposed. Now, three years after its first fall, Team Rocket is back. Can they stop it?
1. Chapter 1

_A.N.: Hey. Thanks for reading. The intro already pretty much says everything you need to know about this fic. It's an alternate universe where Red and Gold/Ethan never existed; or, if they did, they never went on Pokémon Journeys; or, if they did, it wasn't in Kanto and Johto. Consequently, the top Trainers in both regions, and the only "heroes" to speak of are Silver and Blue, who make their own journeys unopposed. Also consequently, Team Rocket is much, much stronger... and it's up to Silver and Blue to stop them. How do the stories of the two "Rivals" unfold when they're on their own? Can they stop Team Rocket? But also, will they? Both are pretty dubious characters for "heroes" as is..._

 _Hope you guys like this. Don't forget to "RnR"; all feedback is always much appreciated._

 _-Oswald_

 **NO PLACE FOR HEROES**

 _ **A Pokémon Fanfiction**_

 **Chapter 1**

The sun had only recently set when Silver began to make his way to Viridian City down the rugged mountainside of Indigo Plateau. The city lights dimmed out the stars; but in their own way, they were beautiful, like a little pond of lights among the dark verdant forests.

Not that Silver cared about beautiful lights; or beautiful anythings for that matter. The Johto Challenger -this was his current title- had only taken that road because it was the fastest and the most discreet. He had pressing business in Viridian City, and he needed to get there, quick; preferably without anyone knowing anything.

Things had gotten very bad, very fast.

Beside Silver, his Magneton's low electric glow lit the way. A few paces in front of them, Silver heard something rustling through the bushes.

"There!" Silver said sharply in a loud whisper, pointing the source of the noise out to Magneton, who immediately made for the bushes. A male Nidoran, now caught in the glare of Magneton's electrical light, had been trying to scurry away; but being located, it presently turned towards the Electric- and Steel-type Pokémon and, growling, bared its teeth and got ready for battle.

"Magneton, use Discharge." Silver said coldly.

The enemy Nidoran didn't stand a chance. It fainted immediately.

Silver was taking no chances.

"Magneton..." his Pokémon said obediently, with a slight nod of its whole massive body.

"What the hell do you want, a goddamn medal?" said Silver with clear disdain. They continued on their way.

Once they approached and entered Viridian City, Silver immediately called back his Pokémon so as to not draw attention to himself.

Despite his best efforts, Silver felt a tinge of nostalgia as he made his way through the dark streets. He remembered this place.

He'd _better_ remember this place. He'd grown up here.

But that was a long time ago, and it was all behind Silver now. Even alone, however, he exerted himself to not let an ounce of emotion show on his expression.

Showing emotion was the sort of thing weak people did.

In silence, the red-haired boy made his way to the local Pokémon Center and had his Pokémon healed, before getting a room and going to sleep. He needed to be rested. The next morning, he'd make his way to the Viridian Gym.

His pressing business in Viridian City was specifically related to that Gym, you see; and to the man he supposed he might find there.

Downstairs, on the ground floor of the Pokémon Center, there was a lot of hustle and bustle. Everyone was talking and making a big fuss. This, Silver thought, was good: it meant no-one would take notice of him.

Even if the reason there was such a commotion was directly related to his reason for being in Kanto.

Silver's father, you see; Silver's dear, dear father, as he sneeringly thought of him... Silver's father, whom Silver expected to find in Viridian Gym, was at it again.

Team Rocket had taken over Johto.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The events leading up to the Team Rocket takeover of Johto started around the same time Silver had begun his Pokémon journey.

In a way, Silver had started out similarly to many kids. He'd gotten a starter from the Pokémon Laboratory in Johto. Well, he'd actually stolen the Pokémon... but at any rate, his start had been as typical as your start can be when your dad's the Boss of Team Rocket and abandons you for three years.

After that, however, Silver more or less blasted his way through Johto. Totodile, his Water-type starter, hadn't been too strong at first. But it got stronger with time. And with time, Silver caught other Pokémon; and they soon got strong too.

And travelling through Johto, Silver defeated the Gym Leaders one after the other. Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Chuck, Jasmine, Pryce, Claire... they were no match. And if Silver arrived in a town and it looked like he might _not_ win a Gym Battle, he would simply take some time off, and before going to the Gym, he would visit the nearby wilderness. And there he would unrelentingly grind his Pokémon, training in the tall grass and the caves and waters against wild Pokémon, until his team could easily mow down any opposition. And _then_ he'd crush the Gym Leaders.

Soon, everyone knew about Silver as he won Badges in town after town. It looked like there was nobody to oppose him: the young Trainer, coming like a whirlwind out of seemingly nowhere -he was never caught for stealing that Totodile-, had swept through the Johto Pokémon establishment, and he was fast on track to become the next Pokémon Champion.

And the stronger Silver got, the more confident he got. And not only more confident, but also colder: for, after all, for Silver each victory confirmed that his way of training Pokémon was the correct one. And it was a harsh and cold way. Ever since he'd first gotten Totodile, Silver, in raising his Pokémon, had been brutal and unforgiving, always pushing them harder and never caring much for their well-being beyond the basics and what was required to make them strong. If a Pokémon was weak and couldn't keep up, Silver had no use for it.

And when Silver won, it confirmed to him that that was the way to do things. And so he got colder.

And he would push harder. And get stronger. And even colder. It was a vicious, or virtuous, circle, depending on how you looked at it.

Silver was cruel like people had been cruel to him. Like his father had been cruel to him. And he was going to be strong, to prevent that from happening again.

And he'd be strong alone.

He wouldn't hide behind goons... like his father had.

And for now, Silver's tactics seemed to work.

After all, there was no-one to check Silver's power.

No-one could defeat him. Well, almost no-one, anyway. Although... there were also people out there whom he hadn't exactly defeated either.

There was, after all, Team Rocket.

Team Rocket was Silver's father's organization: it had collapsed about three years prior and that had caused Giovanni, Silver's father, to go into hiding and abandon his son. And the crime syndicate was now regrouping in Johto, at the same time as Silver was pursuing his meteoric rise towards the Pokémon Championship.

And Silver clashed with them; a lot.

When Silver first heard that Team Rocket were up and at it again, of course, he felt nothing but utter contempt and rage, and he simultaneously snubbed them and hated them with a passion. It was a strange mixed feeling: Silver had no use for such people; but he made it a point of honour to defeat them, in tandem with his Pokémon journey.

And it must be said at first he did a rather good job of it.

Team Rocket being a criminal organization, this was to Silver's credit. And it wasn't particularly difficult for him either. After all, if Silver could plow through Gym Leaders, he could certainly plow through the useless Grunts his father employed. And so Silver thwarted plot after plot of Team Rocket's.

They were _really_ useless, Silver remembered thinking to himself, the first time his recently-caught Ghastly defeated the final Pokémon of some Rocket muck deep in the dark, damp rocky recessess of Slowpoke Well.

Useless. Weak. Of course they'd follow orders.

Of course they'd follow his father's orders.

What else could they do?

Silver really hated Team Rocket.

But, other than defeating them wherever he found them, Silver never actually hunted the Rockets down that much. He was, it is true, because of his particular hatred much more violent against them than a regular Trainer would have been. He often left random Grunts and even Executives rather badly bruised. But he only really wanted to defeat them, not thwart their plans, and in reality Silver couldn't care less about the Slowpoke in Azalea Town that Team Rocket had been cutting the tails off of, or about the Magikarp in the Lake of Rage, or about any of the people and Pokémon that he was supposedly saving in his fights with the organization -because of course all of Team Rocket's schemes were overtly criminl and directly hostile to local communities.

And when Silver first encountered Lance, whom he only knew as the Dragon Trainer at the time, at the Lake of Rage, he only bothered collaborating with him insofar as it would allow him to catch a red Gyarados and prove himself even more against Team Rocket.

Indeed, in order to catch the red Gyarados, Silver even let a bunch of Rockets and get away.

The next time Silver met the crime syndicate, it would be in Goldenrod City.

And there something extraordinary happened.

Silver went up the Radio Tower, as on other occasions mowing through the Rocket Grunts and Rocket Executives, going up floor after floor. Once again, he didn't care about their particular evil plan of the week -he believed they were holding someone hostage? He wasn't even sure.

Silver just wanted to defeat them.

But despite his constant victories, it seemed that now Team Rocket was somewhat further advanced in their nefarious schemes than he, or anyone else, had expected; in fact they were more advanced than anyone _could_ have expected after their being defeated so many times. Their funds after the Lake of Rage and Azalea Town had increased dramatically, despite their ultimate demise in both those locations; maybe a more thorough defeat would have been useful: likely, if there had been more than one Trainer at work on top of the Lance the Dragon Trainer (who joined in the fight here as well) and Silver himself, Team Rocket might have been nipped in the bud more thoroughly. But at this point the crime syndicate's numbers and funds were very large, and only growing. And, although Silver was stronger than them, here in the Goldenrod Radio Tower there was far, far too many Team Rocket members. And their plans advanced even as he defeated them one after the other.

Numbers, sooner or later, often overcome valour.

And when he reached the very last Executives, in the spacious top floor of the Radio Tower, Silver found something that proved just how bad things were.

The Rockets did not only have their hostage safely kept: they had managed to diffuse their radio message, which was the reason they had taken over the Goldenrod City Radio Tower in the first place. And not only had they managed to diffuse it, but Giovanni, at whom it was aimed, had received it. And he had heard it.

And not only that but he was there. And ready to fight.


	3. Chapter 3

_A.N. This was originally the second half of Chapter 2. I decided to break up said chapter into two parts because it was far too long compared to the rest of the chapters I had ready for this story and there was a decent cut-off point. Consequently, if you're following the story "hot off the press", you might have already read this. If so, do be so kind as to proceed to the immediately following chapter, which should be uploaded, like, immediately._

 _What, did you think I was the kind of person who hogs up first-page space just to re-arrange his story without putting out new content?! Of course there's new content._

 _If you haven't read this, then, of course, enjoy! Thanks for taking time follow the story, and of course don't forget to RnR. It's always appreciated!_

- _Oswald_

 **Chapter 3**

Seeing Giovanni again almost felt like a mirage to Silver. His father looked like he'd only changed the tiniest bit: he still had the sort of gleefully nasty look of a gangster, and the slightly gaudy air of someone a bit too well dressed for their own good, with a fancy but ever so imperceptibly ill-fitting suit.

Silver's suffering as a younger child, after being abandoned the first time Giovanni had been defeated and gone into hiding, had strangely only compounded with his powers, victories and confidence in his own ruthless methods of training. This had made him almost utterly unfeeling. Nonetheless, now, Silver found that he could barely speak for a while as he stared at his father.

It was Giovanni who broke the silence between the two:

"So." the man said, with a smirk that would have been unfeeling except for its cruely "We meet again, Silver."

And they battled. And it was a tough battle.

But Giovanni beat him.

Silver could scarcely believe his eyes as he saw his former Totodile, now a very powerful Feraligatr, finally go down under a tremendous Thunder attack from Giovanni's Nidoking. But it was true: his father, for all Silver's training, for all his striving, and for all his ruthlessness, had still defeated him.

It was only through the intervention of the Dragon Trainer Lance, who joined Silver and fought Giovanni immediately after, that Silver even got away from that battle safely; Lance, who was by the way at that time also the reigning Pokémon Champion. But even Lance's powerful Dragon-type Pokémon were only just strong enough to keep Giovanni in check for the moment, and that only after he had already been weakened by Silver.

Still, with the police arriving as well, Giovanni had to momentarily flee the scene. But Silver was in shock.

He'd lost.

And from then on, things also changed with regards to Team Rocket in general; and for the worse: despite their still being routinely defeated a few more times, it seemed that Team Rocket's strength had reached a crucial tipping point. And now, no matter how many times they were cut down, the Rockets always cropped up stronger and faster the next time around.

From Goldenrod City on, Silver's Pokémon Journey, and his from then on routine encounters with Team Rocket, consisted of simply being one step ahead of the crime syndicate. And that step's distance got smaller and smaller with every encounter.

Every new town, Team Rocket had a new operation. And every new town, Silver, and Lance, would only just manage to defeat a new batch of Rocket recruits before moving on and finding an even bigger operation in the next town. Silver, with dogged determination, continued to fight the Gym Leaders and collect badges as well as defeating Team Rocket, and he told himself that Team Rocket was still only further training, and overall just an insignificant nuisance. But despite Silver's denial, they were in fact that this point more or less relentlessly gaining power throughout the region.

It appeared Team Rocket had reached a critical mass at which it could not be stopped by small-scale operations.

They just kept coming, and always with new members. The members' interests were varied, but it seems that, seeing Team Rocket, they all just sort of came together.

The Champion Lance was the first to say it:

It was as if evil now had a face and a name. And this time around, everyone who had something bad to do or say against Pokémon was joining Team Rocket.

And there was a _lot_ of those people.

There had, of course, been another time before. But we'll get back to _that_ later.

When he arrived at Indigo Plateau, Silver, with now very powerful Pokémon, blasted through the Elite Four. But the Champion being the Dragon Trainer Lance, he was at the time in Goldenrod City, trying to help the police there quell the latest Rocket uprising.

It was only then that it struck Silver just how serious things were.

The Indigo League itself was out of order, basically, because Team Rocket was taking over the country.

Silver fumed with rage, as he was granted, almost as a consolation prize, the title of Johto Challenger, which was the one title he could hold officially, having qualified, with Johto Gym Badges, to face the Champion but not having defeated him.

His father. His _fucking_ father had managed to even screw this up for him: he was the strongest trainer in Johto, and he wouldn't be the Johto Champion.

And even _that_ was because of Giovanni.

That night Silver slept at the Pokémon Center on Indigo Plateau. And the next morning, news came:

Giovanni had defeated Lance, before disappearing again: this, by the way, was not the first time such a sporadic appearance from Team Rocket's Boss had been witnessed. The elusive but frightfully powerful trainer would pop up, on and off, to manage his operations in Johto, but he would dissappear again almost immediately; it was reported that he had various stolen vehicles for his getaways; or maybe he simply used a Psychic Pokémon's teleport ability. But in any case, the police never caught him, and it was clear Johto was not Giovanni's headquarters.

But what stuck with Silver was that Giovanni had defeated Lance.

Now, it became personal; or, rather, it became more personal than before, or more overtly so, anyway: Silver's deep-seated issues with his father now evidently tied with his overt personal goals.

Silver's thought process on hearing the news went something like this:

If Giovanni had defeated Lance, it meant that, at least now, he was the most powerful Trainer in Johto. Giovanni had been training in his three years in hiding. Clearly: back then, he was just the most powerful of the Kanto Gym Leaders. Now, he had defeated Lance. This meant that, at least now, Giovanni was the Pokémon Champion, even if he had not gone through the formalities of the Pokémon League.

Giovanni was the most powerful Trainer in the world.

With the help of Team Rocket, Giovanni had not only screwed over Silver by stopping the Pokémon League and preventing him from becoming Champion. He'd actually stolen the title for himself.

Silver could hardly contain his rage.

But on the other hand, the solution to all of his problems was now obvious:

Silver had to exterminate Team Rocket, of course. But to do this, he would have to defeat Giovanni personally.

That night, at Indigo Plateau, Silver's mind settled on it: he would hunt down his father, and beat him.

It was the only way.

Luckily for him -Silver smirked at the idea that _anything_ relating to Giovanni could be lucky-, Silver was Giovanni's kid. So he knew where Giovanni might be.

A cellphone call arrived from Lance that night telling Silver to stay safe on Indigo Plateau and wait for for him, but Silver knew better. Lance, even Lance the Dragon Trainer, had proved weak and lost to Giovanni. Silver had only grudgingly been working with him because he'd been defeated by Lance once before when they'd first met. Silver's attitude had meant there had been an almost immediate confrontation at the Lake of Rage; although, as Silver remembered, that was back when he himself was far, far weaker. But nonetheless, Silver had collaborated with Lance almost by the force of his own respect for strength. And this despite Lance's strange and weak ideas about being nice to Pokémon, on which Lance furthermore constantly moralized at Silver -albeit with few to no results.

So, they had been uneasy partners. But now that Lance was defeated, Silver had no reason to collaborate with him at all, or to put up with his preaching for that matter. And he had no desire to do so either.

And overall Silver would do whatever he _d-n_ well pleased.

And Silver had to do what he had to do. And he had to do it on his own.

If Silver defeated Giovanni in Kanto, that would cut the head off Team Rocket like a Guillotine attack.

Although Silver probably would have set out to do this if it weren't the case too.

So it was that, with perhaps more commendable intentions than motives, Silver made his way to where he'd grown up before being abandoned, and where he expected his father to be hiding out: Viridian City. That was where Giovanni's hideout was after all, right? The Viridian City Gym. That was where he'd retreated to after the last time he'd been defeated, at least before being found out _there_ as well.

And that was where we found Silver at the start of this story. And that was where he was now, sleeping the night away in a slumber that was only restful because he was imposing on himself the same harsh discipline he imposed on his Pokémon. Meanwhile, under electric lights and with televisions and radios turned to news channels, the denizens of the town downstairs (and everywhere else in Viridian City) frantically discussed the fact that the Pokémon Champion had been defeated, and that, basically, the new power in the nearby region was Team Rocket.

But it was all good.

Next morning, Silver would finally defeat the Team Rocket Boss Giovanni, and thus take the whole thing down.

Next morning everything would be good.

Next morning Silver would finally defeat his father.


	4. Chapter 4

_A.N.: Aright, now we're back on track with new content! Chapter 4, y'all!_

 **Chapter 4**

The next morning, Silver immediately made his way to the Viridian City Gym, expecting to challenge its Gym Leader, his father, once and for all. However, much to his dismay, he found the place not how he'd expected it to be.

As a sign on the door said, the Viridian City Pokémon Gym was closed.

"Damn it!" Silver swore, slamming his fist against the door, and drawing a slightly shocked look at his language at so young an age from a passerby lady. She ever so imperceptibly quickened her pace to get out of the currently empty square in front of the Gym.

"Kids these days..."

Silver ignored her as he began to think of what he'd do now. Maybe his father wasn't here? Maybe he'd be back?

Silver's thoughts were, however quickly interrupted by another passerby. This one was not quite so offended, and he came up to Silver very casually.

"Hey kid," he said "What's the trouble?"

The Passerby Boy who was talking to Silver was around his age but bit older. There was a suave, breezy air to the youth, but also a strong dose of cockiness. His voice, slightly nasal, seemed to mirror his personality: it had strength and composure at its base; but it was marred by a very jarring conceit.

In a way, this young man seemed like the exact opposite of the composed Silver. They both showed the same amount of pride; but it was expressed in radically different ways. Silver, who had led a life with more deprivation and abandonment than most, never spoke much, but was very tense when he did so; and he made a point of acting as superior as if he were as rich as he'd been before being abandoned.

This young man seemed to let his vanity ooze out over a casual demeanor.

Their social statuses were visibly opposed too: the stranger youth was subtly well-dressed, with well-groomed spiky brown hair. He overall looked like a well-to-do sort of individual.

Silver looked at him with the same serious eyes he always had as he made him an answer:

"I came here all the way from Johto," Silver said, with no visible emotion but contempt "And I'm looking for the Gym Leader of Viridian City.."

Then he gave a kind of sigh-scoff that was peculiar to himself.

"Humpf! But it seems he can't even be bothered to show up to his own Gym... What kind of an idiot is this Viridian City Gym Leader, anyway?" he stepped closer to the stranger youth:

"I don't suppose _you_ know where he is?"

The stranger youth gave Silver a smirk.

He was definitely just as full of himself as Silver was.

"Calm down!" the stranger youth said jokingly "The Gym Leader might hear you, don't you know? And then he'd be pretty bothered."

Silver here got even more terse than before:

"I honestly don't give a damn whether he hears me or not; or how much it bothers him!"

Of course he didn't. The last thing Silver cared about was Giovanni's opinion of him!

The stranger youth raised an eyebrow, now crossing his arms and leaning against a nearby wall in an show of unaffectedness. The smirk was still on his face, though.

"You can fight me instead, if you like" he said.

"Are you a strong Trainer?" Silver asked rather bluntly "I can use the training before meeting the Gym Leader, but I don't fight weaklings."

That wasn't exactly true: after all, there was always a bunch of Trainers in Gyms before you met a Gym Leader, and they weren't always the strongest. And Silver usually fought _them_. But Silver was currently pretty annoyed with this strange young man, and wasn't about to compliment him, even implicitly.

Said strange young man didn't seem at all moved, though.

"I guess there's only one way to find if I am strong, isn't there?" he said.

Nonchalantly, he produced a Pokéball.

"So... Battle?"

"Humpf!" Silver said, sizing him up "I guess so."

The stranger youth's smirk now widened to a grin, and he straightened himself out.

"Alright," he said," Then let's do this!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The stranger youth, who merely minutes ago had been a simple Passerby, sent out his first Pokémon:

"Pidgeot, go!"

Silver rejoined immediately:

"Go, Sneazel!"

"Pidgeot, Quick Attack!" the other Trainer commanded.

"Sneazel, Ice Wind!"

Pidgeot hit first. But Sneazel hit hard. A cry was heard from both Pokémon, and both were significantly weakened.

"Ice Wind again, Sneazel!" Silver said.

"Pidgeot, you know what you're doing! Quick Attack!"

Again, the two Pokémon clashed mercilessly. But this time, there was a clear winner.

Sneazel had the type advantage, but Pidgeot was stronger. And, again, he'd hit first.

Sneazel fainted.

Silver was furious:

"Weakling," he muttered under his breath, as he recalled the Pokémon "Sneazel return. Magneton, go!"

The heavy, levitating hulk of metal that had guided Silver down Indigo Plateau materialized flaring and glaring with electrical currents, all ablaze in its menacing glow.

"Magneton, Discharge!" Silver ordered, and the Pokémon hit Pidgeot with an attack that finally finished the Flying-type Pokémon.

"Type change. Smart man," said the other Trainer with a smirk "But see, I'm smart too. Pidgeot, return! Rhydon, go!"

And with that, the tremendous monster that was Rhydon materialized in Pidgeot's place. This time, Silver's Pokémon had the type disadvantage as well as being weaker. Magneton put up something of a fight, mostly thanks to his resilient Steel defense, as well as the fact that his levitating made Rhydon's Earthquake useless. However, eventually, the ground-based attacks overcame him.

Next, Silver sent out his Alakazam, confident that the overpowered Psychic-type would defeat Rhydon. But in no time at all, this time, Rhydon's Earthquake hit, and Alakazam was taken out. Silver's other flying Pokémon, Golbat, did no better. It could not be hit by the Earthquake either, but none of its attacks were particularly effective. Rhydon's Rock Slide and Fury Attack eventually defeated it.

Silver then tried another Pokémon: Gengar. The powerful Ghost-type seemed to terrify even the behemoth of rock and horn that was Rhydon. But its Trainer barked at it to stay put, and it seemed to fear its Trainer more than the ghost.

This fear of the ghost was not without reason: Gengar's Shadow Ball filled the little plaza in front of the Gym, which was where they were fighting -there was now a small crowd of onlookers following what was a fight between two clearly powerful young Trainers there as well- with a dark, frigthening glow. And Rhydon seemed like it would almost lose its composure.

But the other Trainer ordered him:

"Rhydon, use Rock Slide!"

And Gengar, too, fell.

Silver was now down to his last Pokémon, and furious beside himself. What was this? He was the Johto Champion in all but name, at least except for the Viridian Gym Leader, who he thought was Giovanni! He shouldn't be losing to some random stranger! To some Passerby Boy! But, Silver figured, at least his last Pokémon would be a good one.

"Go, Feraligatr!" Silver shouted.

Feraligatr was both strong and fast, and Silver had trained it hard and unforgivingly, with particular attention, ever since the very start of his Pokémon journey. Feraligatr was Silver's strongest Pokémon. And if you could say that Silver was close with any of his Pokémon -which isn't necessarily the case-, that would be Feraligatr.

Also, perhaps more importantly, Feraligatr was a Water-type, and would thus be able to fight Rhydon with an edge.

And sure enough, Feraligatr's powerful Waterfall attack finally took down the dreaded beast that had been shredding through the Johto Challenger's Pokémon. Overwhelmed by the Water-type attack the rock monster collapsed on the ground with a tremendous rumble.

At this point, Silver finally felt some relief. But the other Trainer simply laughed.

"Wow," he said "I guess you aren't as bad after all. I like it. It might even be almost worth my time to be fighting you!"

Silver sneered:

"Humpf! It was just your luck for the first few Pokémon. I'll take you on!"

"I don't think you'll be as confident once you see my next Pokémon," said the other Trainer.

"What, is it a Grass-type or something?" said Silver. He betrayed no emotion. But, at the back of his head, he gleefully remembered that Feraligatr, in fact, knew Ice Fang, and so could easily deal with water's typical weakness.

"Could be," said the other Trainer "But that wouldn't be fun, now, would it? What type of Pokémon was the last one Rhydon took out?"

"Gengar," said Silver, unmoved "He's Ghost and Poison. What's your point?"

"What type of Pokémon is Ghost strong against? In fact, what's the type of Pokémon that pretty much only Ghost Pokémon can take on, at least in these parts."

"..."

The stranger youth smirked.

"Alakazam, go!"

"Oh damn..."

The insult of having just lost the one Pokémon that could have dealt with Gengar was for Silver compounded with the injury of a full-fledged, overpowered Kanto Psychic powerhouse:

"Alakazam, Psychic!"

Feraligatr fell.

The crowd, which until then had been watching, rushed forward now, to congratulate the two trainers. Mostly, the Trainer who wasn't Silver:

"Great job, Sir!"

"I see you've still got it!"

"That was another match for the records!"

But even Silver got his share of praise:

"You were one tough Challenger, kid, for sure! Who are you?"

Silver stopped. Challenger? How did these people know he was the Johto Challenger? He didn't remember mentioning it... unless they didn't mean what he thought they meant.

Silver then looked at his opponent, who, still smirking, and still full of himself, came over to him. Somehow, after being defeated, their age difference, however slight, was more visible than before, and the other Trainer looked much more imposing.

Still, with the easy and self-absorbed politeness of someone who can afford the luxury to be nice, the stranger youth offered him a hand and said:

"Good match, kid!"

Silver, his pride hurt, sneered a bit. But he had been defeated, so he condescended to shake his opponent's hand. He couldn't help but respect him, at least a bit: another young trainer like him, so powerful. And the attitude, too, was not one to be easily dismissed; it was different from his own, but similar at the same time; just as strong.

"Humpf! You're strong, for sure," Silver said. "But..." here the young man remembered his purpose for being back in Kanto in the first place "I need to find this town's Gym Leader."

At which point, the other Trainer smirked:

"You're looking at him, kid."

Silver was usually silent anyway, so the difference was not noticeable. But right now, he was silent because he was dumbfounded.

This was the Gym Leader?

The stranger youth, whose smirk had been growing wider and wider, now outright laughed, before finally presenting himself.

"Blue. Blue Oak. Viridian City Gym Leader."


	6. Chapter 6

_A.N. Yo readers. School took over for a bit, but now that calmed down the fic is back on track. Going by a few reviews, I uncensored the swearing in the previous chapters. I felt it would make it less jarring, but clearly that wasn't the case. Hope you guys still like the story, and don't forget to RnR._

 **Chapter 6**

The revelation that this young Trainer was the Viridian City Gym Leader had Silver flabbergasted.

"You're in charge of the Gym?" he exclaimed "No way!"

How could this happen? Why wasn't this Giovanni? It should've been Giovanni!

As the crowd that had been watching the Pokémon Battle dispersed, Silver tried to put the pieces together... of course, he had never had direct information that his father _would_ be there. But Giovanni had fallen back here the last time he'd been defeated, and Silver had figured he would be there again now; or at least in hiding in the vicinity. But an entirely new Gym Leader threw the whole thing off!

Unless there was something more afoot than this Blue person was letting on...

Silver decided to collect himself, and proceeded a bit more calmly.

"I was expecting someone else."

Beyond his ulterior motive in wanting to find out if Blue was lying to him, at this point it's only fair to mention that Silver also genuinely felt he owed Blue some respect. He had been defeated by him, after all: Silver did not respect many people. But he definitely respected people that defeated him.

The New Viridian City Gym Leader simply laughed again at Silver's response.

"Really? Who _were_ you expecting?" Blue asked. And once again, he sized up Silver. Then, after thinking a bit, he seemed to come to a realization, although the change was only just noticeable on his face.

Just like his own permanently serious brow was not altered by wanton emotions, Silver realized that the New Viridian City Gym Leader's smirk was equally permanent: he kept that self-reliant, cocky air no matter what was going through his mind.

In that way, he was similar to Silver, but also different.

"You're not from here," the New Leader finally said "Are you?"

"No Sir." Silver answered, figuring that there was no harm in being honest.

"Where are you from, then?" Blue asked.

Silver here hesitated a bit, but finally figured that answering couldn't hurt, as the answer he would give was vague enough. Besides, it was technically a lie, as Silver was technically from Viridian City, although he hadn't been there since Giovanni had been defeated.

The duplicity was perversely comforting.

"Johto. New Bark Town."

Blue smiled.

"Wow. You'd think you guys would be less than three years behind on the news..." This jab at his misinformation bothered Silver, but he reminded himself yet again that his hypothesis had been plausible, and that since this Blue guy might still be lying -although he didn't seem to be-, it was also still not disproven.

"Kid," Blue continued "I defeated Giovanni a long time ago. I took over Viridian City Gym after that. I'm the one that took Giovanni down three years ago."

Then, Silver's eyes opened wide.

No way!

And then the pieces came together.

 _Now_ Silver knew who this was. Of course, as Silver had been very young at the time (though apparently not young enough for his father to not abandon him), he had never been privy to exactly what had been going on in Team Rocket. But... he'd heard parts of it. And he'd heard parts of this story:

Silver had known that a kid, some kid, he assumed (and now he saw to confirm it) older than him, had been causing his dad problems way back then. And he remembered that eventually that kid had been the cause of Giovanni being taken down.

Of course, Giovanni had never elaborated on this mysterious Trainer at home. He only spoke dismissively of him, even as he was defeated again and again.

 _"Just a minor setback..."_

Inwardly, Silver sneered. Even in defeat, his father hadn't had the grace to acknowledge the merit of his betters. But even then, Silver had known that this young Trainer was far more powerful than Giovanni let on.

And even then Silver distinctly remembered having felt a strange sense of admiration for that Trainer, although he'd never met him.

And now, the connection made, Silver suddenly liked Blue a whole lot more. Besides, any enemy of Giovanni's was a friend of Silver's.

Despite his composure, Silver's somewhat overdrawn silence at this point betrayed him.

"You really seem interested, don't you?" said the New Viridian Gym Leader.

"Yes," Silver admitted "I really wasn't up to date. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear what..." he tried to be at least somewhat diplomatic "I'd like to know you got the Gym. And what happened to the last Leader."

After some thought, Silver also added, although very cautiously:

"I really was expecting to see Giovanni." And he also added a lie "He stole one of my Pokémon a while back. I was hoping to beat him. You know, Team Rocket is back in Johto."

Blue for a split second got a bit more serious:

"Yes, so I've heard." Then, he thought for a bit, and became his chirpy, smirking self again:

"You know what?" Blue said "You look tired. You have to be tired, if you came here from Johto!" The New Viridian Gym Leader looked over Silver's clothes shamelessly "I was just about to go out to lunch, you're free to join me if you like. You don't seem particularly rich, so don't worry, it's on me... you're not a rich kid, are you?"

Silver ignored the thinly veiled insult. In fact, he was quite pleased by this offer from a Trainer whom he was only liking more and more as this conversation went on, so he rapidly brushed it off.

"I get by."

"Well, you were a worthy challenger," Blue said. And Silver couldn't help but feel a bit proud at that "So you at least deserve the information. And over lunch, I'll tell you exactly how it all went down. I'm never one to turn down the opportunity of telling how I took down Team Rocket! And became Pokémon Champion. Because, really, Viridian City Gym Leader is a downgrade from what I used to be!"

Pokémon Champion? Silver was happy, and felt nothing but confidence and curiosity as the New Viridian City Gym Leader gestured to him to follow, and led him -after stopping by the Pokémon Center to heal both their Pokémon; no use in carrying around fainted monsters!- to a small little Viridian City Diner and Coffee Shop, right up north. The place had opened in the past three years, just above the Pokémon Trainers' School, due to extraordinary local demand.

As they walked north, Silver's admiration only grew. Thinking about it, he recalled Blue's name actually coming up a few times, and he knew that what he was saying was true. Blue... Blue Oak. Victor against Giovanni. Silver knew bits and pieces of the story. But he didn't presume to know the whole thing. And it would be pointless now to go into what he _did_ know, as the full extent of what actually happened would soon be expounded.

The one thing Silver did know now, however, was that if there was anyone he admired -although of course there wasn't, except himself- it was Blue Oak.

And more eager for this than he'd been for anything in a long time, Silver sat down to listen to Blue's story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"So!" Blue said, after their food was served "What do you want to hear?"

"Just start from the start," said Silver, who began to dig into his double steak with extra fries. He had had no qualms about ordering the biggest meal on the menu, since he knew the other Trainer was paying.

"Well," Blue began "I was born in Pallet Town, and grew up there."

"You really are starting from the start."

"You asked for it," said Blue. "Anyway... You might have heard of my grandfather. Professor Oak."

Silver had, in fact, heard of him, and thought he should have guessed he and Blue were related. Silver had even met Professor Oak on a visit of his to Johto once.

Blue continued.

"He's the one that raised me and my sister. It was pretty lonely, to be honest. There's very few people in Pallet Town, and there were no other kids around my age. I always felt like there should've been at least one other little Trainer there! But there wasn't. I suppose it did help _me_ become a better Pokémon Trainer, though, because I dedicated more time to studying. Or maybe not because I got to battle less... But anyway, whatever happened, happened, and experience or not, I left town when I was ten and started on my Pokémon Journey. And that's when I met Team Rocket."

Silver leaned in imperceptibly.

"The first I saw of them was at Mount Moon, stealing Fossils," Blue continued. "I made quick work of their operatives there. Then, at Cerulean City, they tried to recruit me. 'Course, why I, the grandson of Professor Oak, and at that point two Gym Badges into becoming Kanto League Champion, could want to join a syndicate of low-life thugs is anyone's guess. But they tried anyway. Predictably, it didn't do them any good. I kicked their ass."

Here Blue smugly took a sip of coffee.

"The next time I saw them, it was in Lavender Town, at the Pokémon Tower." At this point Blue got more serious. The most serious Silver had ever seen him; although he'd only known him for about an hour or so, so that wasn't saying much

"I was there for... particular business," Blue continued "They were up to no good, though. These people really don't respect anything. It just isn't proper, you know, messing with dead Pokémon!"

For a moment, Blue seemed genuinely irate, as if that had struck some sort of chord. But it only lasted for a second. And if there was any sentiment underneath that momentary loss of pleasantness, it only came through as anger. In any case, he composed himself immediately, and continued the story.

"I kept on going, and, eventually, I ran into them again in Celadon City. Then in Saffron City, which they'd taken over completely. I defeated their Boss Giovanni there, and they were gone. It was a long battle, and pretty tough...I got the Master Ball out of it, though, and a neat Lapras to surf on, not to mention the cool Silph Scope that allows you to see dead Pokémon. If anyone deserves _that_ stuff, it should be a Trainer like me! By that point, I already had seven Badges anyway, and only one left to go until I could challenge the League. And, of course, I came to Viridian City Gym, because the Gym had been closed when I first left Pallet Town, and by now it was the only one left that was on my way -if you've heard the story about me having Ten Kanto Badges, by the way, that's true, but I got the other two later: one was from the Dojo in Saffron City, that had lost its status as a Gym at the time, and the other one from the Lavender City Gym, that's since been closed. But for now, I made do with Viridian City, and Giovanni had fallen back here, because he was also Gym Leader at the time, at least nominally... Really, things back then pretty much happened the same way you were expecting them to happen this time; so I guess you weren't so dumb for assuming he'd done the same thing again."

Silver nodded, satisfied that Blue had acknowledged his plan wasn't stupid. Silver also remembered that Blue didn't know _how_ he knew this, so he kept quiet.

Blue continued.

"Then, I beat Giovanni for the last time, and he left. He never said he'd disband Team Rocket, even though, by now, it had no members left... But in any case, he left. And that was the last I saw of him. After that, I went along and continued my journey. And I beat the Pokémon League."

Here, again, Blue lost a bit of his smug composure; but this time it was for genuine happiness.

"I was Champion for two years, y'know. My grandfather was so proud! The old Champion, Lance went off to train at the Dragon's Den after that. The next year, I beat him again anyway. But after that, he got his title back. He's been reigning since. I took over Viridian City Gym then, because why not, although I scrapped the Ground-Type theme... I don't get why they make Pokémon Gyms type-themed, it's so stupid! If you want to be a good Trainer, you have to be all-around good. But whatever, I've been training here since anyway, and I was hoping to get my title back this year. But... well, I'm not sure how that's going to happen, with everything that's going on." Blue got somber again: "A lot of unexpected things are clearly coming up. Giovanni is stirring up trouble in Johto... as you know."

Silver nodded, just as grim.

"He just defeated Champion Lance," Silver said.

"Wow... he has gotten better," Blue said gravely. But then, again, he returned to his smug and jovial attitude:

"But what about you, country boy? I know you're a country boy because you're from Johto... what's your story?"

By now, Silver was at a bit of a loss as to how he should continue, and how honest he should be with Blue about his true motivations. The simplest thing, of course, was to keep up the lie, or at least to keep things vague. But at the same time, Silver implicitly wanted to trust the other Trainer. The one thing Silver did remember hearing about Blue was that he was just as ruthless and just as proud a Trainer as he himself was. This seemed true so far, and only endeared him to the younger Trainer more, even beyond the fact that, at least on a personal level, he had also been very friendly. And if there was anyone he could trust with defeating Giovanni, Silver figured it would be the young man who had defeated him before.

But... on the other hand, Silver wasn't sure he wanted to trust anyone. He felt he had to do this alone.

It was quite the dilemma.

Luckily, Silver was saved the embarrassment of having to either choose a course of action or else continue staring dumbly at former Pokémon Champion Blue of Pallet Town forever by a well-timed interruption.

A very Cool-looking Trainer anxiously entered the diner.

"Sir!" the young man said said, immediately going for Blue.

"What is it?" Blue said, getting up. He then turned to Silver to explain "One of the trainees from Viridian City Gym, sorry..."

Silver nodded. He had no claim on Blue's time.

"Sir, there's Rockets at the Gym! They're causing trouble..."

Blue cursed.

"They aren't wasting any time, are they? if they're going to be as bad here as they were in Johto..."

"We'd better get on it, Sir," the Cool Trainer said. "Who knows if they're bringing in reinforcements."

Blue nodded, and made for the door, intending to leave for his Gym.

"I'm on it."

Then he turned his head to Silver, with an uncommon level of concern. The Cool Trainer was surprised:

"Stay here, kid... it isn't safe."

But of course, Silver wasn't the type to be discouraged by this sort of thing. Especially not when it came to a random Team Rocket attack. Already Silver was getting worked up, and he knew what he was going to do.

"I'll follow. I want to see." Then, quickly, with deft aptitude at lying, he followed up "I hate Team Rocket. They stole that Pokémon of mine. And besides..." here, he smirked a bit, and was honest again "It's not like I haven't fought them before."

Blue shrugged. He cared, but he only cared so much. And truth be told he wouldn't have cared as much for the type of kid that _wouldn't_ immediately have had that reaction.

Not that he thought of all this at that moment. But these factors implicitly affected his response:

"Suit yourself!" Blue said, and he hastily walked out, handing the Cool Trainer some money to pay for their meal in his stead.

Silver rushed after him; after paying Blue and Silver's waitress, so did the Cool Trainer.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

When Silver, Blue, and the Cool Trainer got to Viridian City Gym, a large group of people in black were standing in front of the building. They were in Team Rocket uniforms. Silver made a conscious effort, and bravely showed no emotion. Blue seemed outright dismissive and addressed them directly:

"What do you guys want at my Gym?"

One of them, who seemed to be in some position of command, turned to him.

"Mr. Oak. This Gym is lawfully run by Team Rocket," he declared rather threateningly "You know that the real Gym Leader here is Giovanni."

"The only Gym Leader here is yours truly Blue Oak," Blue said, looking right into the Rocket's eyes "And if Giovanni wants to do something about it, he'd better show up himself instead of sending his grunts. He knows what happened the last time I fought him here!"

Another Rocket, this one a female, better dressed and probably an Executive, now spoke up.

"This is the last time we'll tell you, Mr. Oak," she said "Step down, and no-one will get hurt. We can't vouch for that if you don't"

Blue laughed.

"You guys couldn't defeat me when I was ten. What makes you so much better now?"

The Executive balked

"Why you..." she began, but composed herself "Very well." And she produced a Pokéball.

The other Rocket Grunts, seeing that a fight was about to break out, followed suit.

"Prepare for battle," the Executive said coldly.

Any passersby that happened to be there were quick to run away, or else get inside and from the windows of the surrounding buildings. A fight between the local Gym Leader and Team Rocket promised to be interesting, for sure; but it was not something people wanted to be dangerously close to.

Blue smirked:

"You'll have asked for it," he said to the Executive "Pidgeot, go!"

And the Pokémon went into Battle.

Immediately, all the Rockets sent forth their own Pokémon. And, not to be outdone, on Blue's side, the Cool Trainer likewise joined with a Porygon.

And Silver immediately joined in as well, sending in his strongest Pokémon, Feraligatr, just to be sure. It was lucky they'd stopped by a Pokémon Centre after the previous fight.

The Battle was intense. There were a lot of Rockets, and some of their Pokémon were not too weak. But nonetheless, it was over fast: and the Rockets were soundly defeated. The Cool Trainer did what he could with Porygon. Silver used several of his Pokémon, and managed to take out two of the grunts pretty handily.

"Humpf," Silver told his last Pokémon as he called it back "Not bad for a weakling!"

But Blue did most of the work; and he did it with Pidgeot alone.

After the Battle, the Rockets fled the scene just as the police, probably alerted by some watchful citizen, arrived on the scene.

"It seems like the disturbances in Kanto are spreading, Mr. Oak." one Police Officer told the Gym Leader.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." Blue said sarcastically. "I guess we'll have to double our guard or something. I'm glad I had these two to help me, though" Blue turned to Silver "Especially this one, he's strong beyond his years. Where did you say you were from, kid? Johto, right?"

Silver couldn't help but swell with pride at this, and nodded, with perhaps a bit more enthusiasm than he'd wanted to.

Damnit. Had... had he just fought Team Rocket next to a former Pokémon Champion Blue Oak?

In the aftermath of the fight, the police hunted down and managed to catch some of the Rockets while they were still in the city, and something of an investigation was opened; but it all quieted down pretty quickly. At least, as much as anything could quiet down in the current situation.

However, in the meantime, Silver stuck around, though he didn't say much. He was very pensive, and had taken to pondering a very important topic. And he came to a very important conclusion.

When everything was calm again, Silver turned to Blue.

"Can I talk to you in private?"

Blue raised an eyebrow; but he didn't object:

"Sure," the Gym Leader said. "What is it? Come inside."

Silver did so, and they went into the Viridian City Gym.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Inside the Viridian City Gym, where they were far away from prying eyes and ears, Blue and Silver sat down in a small room on the second floor, which served as Blue's office -and a very tidy office it was too, surprisingly. There, Silver would communicate to Blue the result of his reflections:

Silver had fought Blue. And he'd heard Blue's story. And he'd seen Blue fight the Rockets. And he'd decided that Blue was someone strong enough that he could respect him; and someone who hated the Rockets enough that he could trust him.

Furthermore, the younger Trainer didn't know why, but there was something that endeared Blue to him. Maybe it was how they were simultaneously so different and yet so strangely similar. Or perhaps it was just how lonely it was for a young Trainer to carry the weight of his quest without opening up about it to anyone. Even if -or perhaps especially because- the quest itself wasn't especially secret.

In any case, with all these things in mind, Silver had decided that Blue could be trusted and admitted as an ally in his fight against Giovanni. And he was going to tell Blue everything.

"My name is Silver," he began "I'm the Johto Challenger. I would've been Champion, but Lance was off fighting Giovanni... as you know."

Blue blinked:

"So that was you?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Well, that's weird," Blue said "I'd heard of you. I was expecting you to show up eventually... but... I don't know anyone who wouldn't brag about being Champion. And I don't know a good reason anyone wouldn't."

Blue sounded nonchalant. But he didn't break eye contact with Silver for a second.

Silver had now started to speak up, and he wasn't going to stop.

"It's like this, Sir," he said "I was here trying to find Giovanni, Sir. After Lance was defeated by him, I figured he'd be in Kanto... and with those... those weaklings in Team Rocket getting so powerful, I figured the only way to stop the organization was to cut off its head. Defeat Giovanni. Here. At home."

"Home?"

At this point Silver felt his last compunction about being honest to Blue swell up in the form of a heavy ball in his throat. And for a moment, it seemed to make talking impossible. Just for a moment, Silver thought he'd just switch back to secrecy again.

But it was only a moment.

The cocky older Trainer looked down at him. The Champion. The boy who'd taken down Team Rocket.

No. If Silver was going to trust anybody, he had to trust him.

Could he?

It didn't matter. He wanted to.

"I'm Giovanni's son," Silver finally blurted out, breaking his usually fearless composure "He abandoned me when you destroyed Team Rocket three years ago. I'm looking for him, so I can defeat him once and for all. I expected he'd be here in Viridian City. You said it yourself, it's where he fell back last time Team Rocket was hit."

Blue blinked again,

"So you're Giovanni's son, and you're going to take Team Rocket down?"

"Yes."

There was a brief silence. It was out.

"Well," Blue said then, finally breaking the tension, and seeming to take the revelation in stride after processing it for a while "I certainly can't fault you for courage. I like the way you think. But sadly, Giovanni's not here; as you saw. Although I can't think where else he would be. Wouldn't you know?"

Silver shrugged.

"No. The only place he spent as much time as here when I was a kid was Saffron City, at Silph Co. If he has any plans that don't involve this Gym, chances are they involve Silph Co."

A huge weight was off Silver's chest now. And the conversation seemed to go a lot easier; although the intensity of Blue's attention, however much he hid it beneath his cocky exterior, didn't subside.

"Yeah, but," Blue said "Silph Co isn't working with him anymore."

"It wasn't working with him then either," Silver said "He'd taken it over by force."

"Well, we would've heard of it if he had again, wouldn't we?"

"I guess..."

At that point, there was a small knock on the door.

Blue sighed:

"Excuse me for a minute, kid," he told Silver; then, louder, "Come in!"

It was the Cool Trainer who'd helped them defeat the Rocket Grunts.

"Sir, the police just got new information. I thought you might be interested: the Saffron City Gym is closed. There's been a Rocket Attack there too, and another one at Silph Co. They say to be on guard: the Rockets are clearly targeting Pokémon Gyms and key buildings. And they've stolen some very expensive equipment from Silph Co, too."

Blue and Silver instinctively looked at each other.

That cleared things up.

"Alright," Blue declared "Well, I hope I can leave you in charge Elan." He got up. Elan, it seemed, was the Cool Trainer's name.

"It's pretty obvious what has to be done," Blue continued "Giovanni is in Saffron City. I'm going to go find him."

Silver looked at Blue aghast.

"You're not going to... you're not thinking of leaving your Gym? Now?!"

"You're one to talk," Blue said "You're the Johto Challenger and you left Indigo Plateau! I'm doing the same thing you're doing." At this point, Blue was already going through his desk and office space and was packing various important items into a small backpack "I'm going to find Giovanni and defeat him He's the reigning Champion. If I beat him, I become Champion again."

Silver stared at him for a second, and he recognized the look on Blue's face.

He only knew one other person with such a purposeful look, and with such a purpose, to defeat Giovanni: himself.

In that moment, Silver was supremely glad he'd trusted Blue.

Blue's eyes fixed his own once again.

"What are you looking at, kid? You got a problem?"

Then, Silver's asperity took over.

"Look," her said "I respect you. A lot. You're one of the strongest Trainers I've fought. You've been Champion. And you..." here, it took some effort to quell his emotion "And you defeated Giovanni; I hope you understand how important that is. But let's get one thing clear. I'm the Johto Challenger. I'm the one that's going to find Giovanni; I'm the one that's going to fight him; and I'm the one that's going to defeat him."

Blue shrugged:

"So you're still determined on that, huh?"

Silver, with great determination, rejoined:

"Yes."

"Well, then, I guess there's only one thing for you to do," Blue answered with seeming indifference, as he continued to pack.

"What's that?"

"I'm not going to go anywhere except where Giovanni is, to fight him," Blue said. And once again, his eyes met Silver's "So, if you're so bent on finding him... then you might want to join me."

Silver frowned:

"Are you serious?"

Blue began to walk out the door.

"Completely."

"What... now?"

"Does it look like I'm going to be leaving any other time?"

"But..."

"If you're joining, go get your stuff at the Pokémon Center. Meet me at Diglett's Cave in half an hour. We have no time to lose."

Silver was completely overwhelmed. But...

"I won't wait any longer than that," Blue said.

Silver knew that he couldn't refuse.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Silver had managed to keep some of his composure while Blue was still in the office with him; mostly because he was so dumbfounded. But the moment Blue left, Silver snapped out of it, and realised there was no time to lose. The young Trainer rushed to the Viridian City Pokémon Center, healed his Pokémon, and then was right off to Diglett's Cave. He arrived at the meeting spot in fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes too early.

Good. He didn't want to be late and miss Blue.

This was happening. They were going to Saffron City to find Giovanni. And Silver would finally defeat him and be Champion.

And he'd also impress Blue.

Twenty minutes later, the Viridian City Gym Leader showed up at a leisurely pace.

"Oh, good, you're here," Blue said indifferently.

But his eyebrows had risen for a second when he'd seen Silver. He was glad to find him there.

And they would have left immediately, except someone else also showed up.

A tall man, rather flamboyantly dressed in fancy clothes, with a long cape and bright hair, rapidly came up the dirt road behind Blue. His bearing was very impressive and aristocratic; so much so that he didn't look ridiculous even in his over-the-top attire. Both Blue and Silver recognized him instantly. And although neither of them really liked him, they respected him. It was Lance, the Pokémon Champion, and Leader of the Elite Four.

"I just flew in from Johto," was his explanation as he came up to the duo "To the Viridian City Gym. I've recently conferred with the Pokémon League. Blue, I need to talk to you..."

Then, he looked at Silver.

"I certainly didn't expect you to be here, too. But I suppose it's better that you are. Things are dire."

"What do you want, Lance?" Blue replied hastily "I don't think we've got time for a rematch. We're..." Blue looked at Silver. A certain degree of confidence had grown between the two, even though they hadn't known each other that long. But it showed a lot more now that there was someone else there:

Blue looked like he was waiting for Silver's approval before revealing their plan to Lance.

Silver nodded at him, and spoke up for himself. Despite a general disdain for the Champion, Silver did bear Lance a grudging awe. And having fought beside him, Silver knew that in the end Lance was an ally against Giovanni.

"We want to defeat Giovanni," Silver said confidently. "And we were going to go and try to find him in Saffron City."

Lance nodded:

"Good. That's a smart plan. If Giovanni was hiding and pulling the strings from anywhere, it would be from Saffron City. Especially after the news of the recent attacks. I presume you've heard of them?"

"Yeah, I've been told." Blue said coolly.

Silver's eyes were intent on the conversation between Blue and Lance now. Blue was much younger than the current Champion, but the two were talking as equals.

Silver's admiration for Blue was firmly established.

"Well, this is the situation," Lance continued. "Barring myself, you two are the strongest Trainers in Johto and Kanto respectively. The Pokémon League deliberated on this. It would be unsafe for me to leave Indigo Plateau for too long. So we decided the best plan was for either Blue or Silver to go and fight Giovanni. I came here to find Blue, as our first pick. I suppose..." -here he smiled a bit, just for a second; it was the only time Silver or Blue had seen him smile like that- "I suppose it's lucky I found Silver as well. Obviously, I can't force either of you to go fight Giovanni. So it's quite fortunate that our plans are in line. But..."

Here, Lance paused.

"But what?" Blue pressed him.

"There's one difference in our view of things," Lance said, now frowning, and his eyes shifting between the two Trainers. "I don't think you two are strong enough to face Giovanni yet."

Here, both Blue and Silver would have been offended, and would have interrupted him if it were anyone else. But they let Lance continue:

"That is why I have come to extend an offer," the Dragon-type Trainer concluded "Before you meet Giovanni, you two should come train with me at the Dragon's Den."

For Silver's part, this caught him off guard. He didn't know what to say.

Blue, however, was once again a lot more open, and took control of the conversation:

"Lance, are you serious?" he said "With all due respect; I don't think we have the time. Team Rocket just took over Johto!"

"They did," Lance answered "But they don't control the Dragon's Den. And more importantly, rushing into this when you're both clearly too weak to beat Giovanni won't solve anything."

Blue sill seemed dumbfounded:

"So, what, we'll just go off to the Dragon's Den while the world burns?"

"You need the training," Lance insisted "I've fought both of you recently. Neither of you are ready for this."

Blue gave a humpf that almost reminded Silver of himself:

"Need I remind you," Blue said "That you've recently lost to Giovanni. You've been a worthy opponent, Lance. But you're not even the strongest Trainer in the world anymore. I have no reason to take orders from you."

Lance, at this point, seemed to get a bit angry.

"I won't try to pull rank on you, Blue," he said "Even though I'm the League Champion, and you're a Gym Leader. But need _I_ remind _you_ , that last time we fought I defeated you. So if I lost to Giovanni... you will too. And so will your friend Silver."

Although this was not new information, hearing it said like that made Silver balk a bit. Silver knew Lance was a stronger Trainer than him and Blue.

Blue also seemed a bit overtaken, and was silent for a second.

"How long will this training take?" the Viridian City Gym Leader finally asked, cautiously opening up to the proposal.

"A single month," Lance said "It'll be very intensive. The toughest training you've ever had. Pokémon League Training. You may not trust us on everything, but you can trust us on this: we know how to train Pokémon. And once you're done, we'll send you to Saffron City. Then, you can truly face Giovanni to the best of your potential."

Blue pondered. It seemed like the idea was gaining on him. But he wasn't sure.

So he did something that surprised Silver very much. And it even surprised Blue himself a bit. He turned to the younger Trainer.

"Silver, what do _you_ think?"

And Silver was a strong Pokémon Trainer. A very strong Pokémon Trainer. But he'd never been given the honor of being directly asked, by someone as important as Blue, his direct opinion on something so important.

So he had to think about it for a bit.

On the one hand, there was a rush; and on principle, Silver just didn't like listening to what Lance had to say. On the other hand... for all the annoyance it caused him, Lance was right. If the Dragon Trainer had lost to Giovanni, then what chance did Silver and Blue stand?

Silver needed to find his father Giovanni, and he needed to fight him. But if he couldn't beat him, then what was the point?

Plus... At this point Silver was thinking somewhat selfishly, and he almost let a smirk of playful competitiveness onto his face as he glanced at Blue: Silver himself had just been defeated by Blue. So Silver thought that maybe the training would help him get better not just than Giovanni... but also than Blue.

And then he'd _really_ be the Champion.

With this in mind, Silver answered Blue:

"I think we ought to train."

Lance nodded.

"I'm glad you boys made the correct decision. It's not worth going to a battle with a blunt sword, you know, even if you get there faster."

Silver rolled his eyes. Great, mystical wisdom.

Blue thought this was the kind of thing his grandfather would say.

But it wasn't false. And so the meeting concluded.

"You both have flying Pokémon," were Lance's parting words "And you've been there before. I expect to see you at the entrance to the Dragon's Den tomorrow evening."

Then, he produced a Pokéball, and there was a blinding flash of light. A Dragonite was released. Lance climbed onto the Pokémon, and raising up a whirlwind of dust as the Pokémon rapidly flapped its comically small but incredibly powerful wings, the League Champion flew off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The flight to Blackthorn City, where the Dragon's Den was located, was not a difficult one with Blue's Pidgeot. Silver joined him on the Pokémon's back. They were in the city by that evening, and at the Dragon's Den itself by sunset. And, sure enough, Lance was waiting there for them.

And Silver and Blue's training began that same day.

It was just as tough as Lance had promised them and then some. Every day Silver and Blue would go separately down into the massive cavern that was the Dragon's Den to train with a different one of the Pokémon on their main team. Whenever the Pokémon fainted, it was healed at the Blackthorn Pokémon Center and they were sent right back to fight more. This meant that the Pokémon themselves received grueling, day-long bouts of training once a week. And that the Trainers received them on a daily basis.

Furthermore, the Pokémon that weren't training a particular day were taken care of, à la Pokémon Day Care, by Lance and the other Dragon Trainers present, so that they continued to grow stronger even when they weren't with their trainers.

Since Silver and Blue had six Pokémon on their teams, this system made for a six-day training rotation.

On the seventh day, Silver and Blue would rest. They would also fight one of the Elite Four. A different member visited each week.

The Pokémon League was clearly actively involved in this training. As Lance had said, they'd all agreed that this was their best shot to at defeating Giovanni. And they had no problem with making their way to this out-of-the-way location for it: at least so far, Blackthorn City and the Dragon's Den were safe from the Rockets.

Furthermore, there was also a private training regimen for Silver and Blue. It consisted mostly of mental and body exercises to keep them in good shape, which, although not nearly as exhausting as Pokémon training, where added on top of it, and thus left Silver and Blue more or less completely exhausted on a daily basis.

By the time they went to bed on the first day, Silver and Blue could barely talk. And it didn't get any better over the next four weeks.

It was lucky this was only going to last a month.

Although he didn't tell them, Lance's training Silver and Blue in this way also had an ulterior motive. Of course, this didn't mean that his stated purpose of training Silver and Blue to just outright become stronger wasn't completely sincere: they had to become as strong as they could to defeat Giovanni. But, through the constant grueling exertion of not just their Pokémon but also the trainers themselves, and especially through constant one-on-one training, Lance wanted also to make the two young men come closer to their Pokémon. And he was hoping that maybe on top of becoming stronger, they would also realise for themselves the hardships that their creatures went through, and consequently grow as trainers.

In this, sadly, at least initially and on any visible level, Lance failed miserably. If anything, instead of Lance's intended effect, both Silver and Blue felt spiteful at their Pokémon that each of them was training one seventh of what they were training!

However, Silver and Blue did grow closer to each other:

The new attitude was more visible in Silver, since it was in stark contrast with his usual stoic self, and furthermore, he admired Blue more than Blue admired him -although Blue did respect him very much, as a plucky little opponent. But both trainers shared the same traits of vanity and determination, and both shared that single-minded harshness with an unwaveringly proud sense of honour. And, seeing each other at the fullest of their exertion, each saw those traits come out in the other. And they came to admire each other even more, beyond their initial sympathy. And more than that, being together all the time, they also grew accustomed to each other. Silver looked up to Blue even more each day; and Blue began to see Silver almost as a younger brother.

So that was good.

And of course, they had also indubitably grown stronger. Incredibly stronger. Each of their Pokémon had gone up several levels, and their attacks flashed and raged and burned with a renewed vigour the likes of which neither of them had ever seen before.

Bonding or not bonding, if they were ever ready to face not just Giovanni, but anybody in the world, it was now.

On that front, at least, Lance could congratulate them with all sincerity.

And at the end of the one month he did:

"I should like to keep you here more," he said. "I will admit, in some points, I have not reached all my training goals with you two. But in others, especially in terms of power, you have far exceeded them."

Blue immediately cut in, the pent-up exhaustion making him impertinent and far more impatient than usual. The hard training was apparent in both his and Silver's looks: they wore the worst and most worn of their clothes without a care, and were visibly disheveled and unkempt.

"Power is what's important," Blue answered Lance.

"It's not the only thing that's important, Blue," Lance said with a sigh "But in any case, I sincerely congratulate you. Although... do try to remember that you and your Pokémon are a team."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," said Blue. "So. We're off to fight Giovanni now?"

Lance nodded.

"Take a rest if you need it. You would probably benefit from doing so. But otherwise, you should head off."

Then he paused, which added effect to his next sentence:

"Good luck, boys."

The boys half-heartedly thanked him, and they shook hands with him and the other three members of the Elite Four, who had gathered there to bid them goodbye.

And that was that.

Then, Blue and Silver each releasing a Flying-type Pokémon, they left for Viridian City again.

The moment they were far up enough in the sky that Lance was out of earshot, Blue said to Silver:

"What a pompous ass!"

Silver laughed.

"Yeah! Humpf... He's wrong, though: there's no way we can lose. Not now that we're strong!"

Beyond this and some more similar banter, flight was overall uneventful.

Once they arrived there, the pair showered and changed clothes, and they had a good night's sleep at the Viridian City Gym. Silver stayed as a guest. And the next morning, they ate a very good and very large breakfast at the already-mentioned coffee shop up north, at the expense of the same Gym. And generally, Silver and Blue took the day off and had a relaxed and relaxing time.

Then, on the next morning, like the last time a month before, they met at the entrance to Diglett's Cave. And they were reprising the same plan as before, to go and find Giovanni in Saffron City. Only now, they were a lot stronger, and doted on by no less than the Pokémon League itself.

And, both told themselves, there was no way they would lose.


End file.
